Frank Lampard says Derby County must only worry about themselves on final day

Sports Reporter

Derby County will go into the final day of the season needing a win to guarantee a play-off place - and that's exactly what manager Frank Lampard will be aiming to produce.

The 1-1 draw with Swansea City on Wednesday night leaves Derby still in sixth place. A win on Sunday against fourth-placed West Bromwich Albion at Pride Park will secure a play-off place, but any other result will mean Derby will have to rely on Middlesborough slipping up at already-relegated Rotherham,

Bristol City also have an outside chance should both Derby and Middlesbrough fail to win.

And Lampard says the Rams' focus will be fully on themselves.

He told RamsTV: "We are in a position where our noses are in front. We are at home and anything can happen. There are three teams fighting for it and we have to worry about ourselves. If we win that game then we are in the play-offs.

“There are other permutations around that but all we can do is worry about ourselves. We will try and perform the way I think we did at Swansea in the first half with our fans who will be hugely behind us and give it everything.

“It’s not good for the nerves. We would have all loved it to have been done at Swansea but it doesn’t always go that way so it’s all on the last day.”

The Rams took the lead at the Liberty Stadium through skipper Richard Keogh, who then went off injured after Swansea had levelled through Wayne Routledge.

Lampard said: "It is a difficult place to come and the reason we didn’t get the three points was because we dominated the first half but didn’t get the extra goal..

“I think the performance warranted it, probably our own little bits of quality in the final pass or shot let us down, but it was all us in the first half.

“They came out and made it more difficult and they were in the game in the second half but if we had gone two goals up it would have been game done.

“We created all night but it was just the final pass. The critical moment for me was the first half because we should have been two or three up at half time.

“We were playing a good team and they can play. They have given everyone a tough game recently.